In mass casualty incidents such as transportation, terrorist or military, rescuers must treat several patients at the same time, requiring several AEDs or a new system adapted to monitor several patient's vital signs at the same time and provide defibrillation therapy when necessary. Such a system that can monitor several patients at the same time allows a single rescuer to treat patients in a triage situation. Such an example is a military doctor or trained individual that must treat several soldiers after attack from an explosive device. Such an individual using a new system adapted to treat the critically wounded soldiers may be the difference between life and death in remote locations such as open battlefields where medical doctors and/or hospitals may be inaccessible. The system itself uses wireless communications to exchange information (via transceiver) with regard to the patient's vital signs and other relevant information. The rescuer applies the monitoring apparatus directly to the bare skin patient's chest. The apparatus then analyzes the patient's ECG for cardiac arrest, communicates the information to the AED and the AED alerts the rescuer that a soldier is in cardiac arrest and requires defibrillation therapy. The rescuer can then quickly provide therapy and continue monitor the other soldiers.